Born and raised as one of seven siblings, the second oldest, by a single mother in New Orleans, Louisiana, Lewis was troubled growing up and was often involved in street fighting.[6] In 1998, Lewis and his family relocated to Houston, Texas. At the age of 17, Lewis began training in boxing and was preparing for his first amateur fight when the gym unexpectedly shut down.[7] Two weeks after graduating from high school, Lewis was charged with aggravated assault, and was placed on probation. Two years later, while attending Kilgore College on a full scholarship for football, Lewis violated his probation and was sentenced to five years in prison, but ended up serving three and a half.[8] A week after being released, Lewis was introduced to mixed martial arts by a friend and, while working as a tow-truck driver, continued with boxing under the tutelage of George Foreman. After dominating in his first professional mixed martial arts fight, Lewis decided to focus on mixed martial arts.[7]
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Lewis began his journey in MMA in late 2009, when he made his debut as an amateur against Jay Ross at LSAMMA on October 16, 2009. He lost the fight via TKO (doctor stoppage). He then faced Tim Buchanan at the United States American Combat Association event on January 30, 2010. He won via TKO.[9]
After turning professional in 2010, Lewis would compile a fight record of 4–1 before signing with Bellator MMA in May 2010.
Bellator Fighting Championships
Lewis was scheduled to make his promotional debut at Bellator 45 on May 21, 2011, against Brazilian Thiago Santos. However, the bout was canceled when Santos had to pull out due to an injury.[10]
Lewis compiled a record of 6–0 with one no-contest after leaving Bellator, most notably winning and successfully defending the Legacy FC Heavyweight Championship. He was then signed to the UFC.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Lewis was scheduled to make his promotional debut against Nandor Guelmino at UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2 on August 28, 2013.[13] However, the bout was canceled as Lewis had to pull out due to an injury.[14]
Lewis faced Ruan Potts on February 28, 2015, at UFC 184.[21] He won the fight via TKO in the second round.[22]
Lewis next had a rematch with Shawn Jordan on June 6, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 68.[23] In their first encounter on the regional circuit in 2010, Lewis lost by unanimous decision.[24] Lewis lost the fight via TKO.[25]
Lewis was expected to face Anthony Hamilton on October 3, 2015, at UFC 192.[26] However, Hamilton was forced out of the bout with an injury and was replaced by Viktor Pešta.[27] Lewis won the fight via TKO in the third round.[28]
Lewis next faced Gabriel Gonzaga on April 10, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 86.[31] He won via KO in the first round.[32] Subsequently, Lewis earned his first Performance of the Night bonus.[33]
Lewis was expected to face Marcin Tybura on October 15, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 97.[35] However, the promotion announced on October 6 that they had canceled the event entirely.[36][37]
Lewis faced Shamil Abdurakhimov on December 9, 2016, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 102.[38] After losing the first three rounds, he won the fight via TKO in the fourth round.[39]
Lewis faced Travis Browne on February 19, 2017, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 105.[40] He won the fight via knockout in the second round.[41] Both participants were awarded Fight of the Night for their performance.[42]
Lewis faced Mark Hunt on June 11, 2017, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 110. He lost the fight via TKO in the fourth round.[43] Despite the loss, the win earned Lewis his second consecutive Fight of the Night bonus award.[44] After the loss, during his post-fight interview, Lewis announced that he was likely retiring from mixed martial arts.[45] Later in the month, Lewis revealed that he ultimately decided to continue fighting.[46]
Lewis was expected to face Fabrício Werdum on October 7, 2017, at UFC 216.[47] On the day of the fight, Lewis was forced out of the bout due to a back injury.[48]
Lewis faced Francis Ngannou on July 7, 2018, at UFC 226.[52] He won the fight via unanimous decision, but the fight itself was heavily criticized for the lack of action in both fighters with Lewis only landing 20 strikes, and Ngannou landing 11.
Lewis faced Alexander Volkov on October 6, 2018, at UFC 229.[53] After being behind on the judges' scorecards and visibly hurt multiple times, Lewis won the fight via knockout in the closing seconds of the third round.[54] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.[55]
Lewis faced Daniel Cormier for the UFC Heavyweight Championship on November 3, 2018, at UFC 230. He lost the fight by rear-naked choke in the second round, marking the first submission loss of his professional MMA career.[56]
Lewis signed a new contract with the UFC after the title shot.[57] As the first fight of his new contract, Lewis faced Junior dos Santos in the main event of UFC Fight Night 146 on March 9, 2019.[58] He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.[59] This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.[60]
Lewis faced Ilir Latifi on February 8, 2020, at UFC 247.[63] He won the bout via unanimous decision.[64]
Lewis faced Aleksei Oleinik on August 8, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 174.[65] He won the bout via TKO early in round two. Lewis also set the record for most knockouts by a heavyweight in UFC history.[66]
Lewis was scheduled to face Curtis Blaydes on November 28, 2020, at UFC on ESPN 18. However, the day before the fight, Blaydes tested positive for COVID-19 and the bout was scrapped from the card.[67] The pair faced off at UFC Fight Night 185 on February 20, 2021.[68] Lewis won the fight via knockout in the second round.[69] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.[70]
Lewis faced Chris Daukaus on December 18, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 199.[73] Lewis won the fight via knockout in the first round.[74] With his knockout win over Daukaus, Lewis earned the record for the most knockouts in UFC history regardless of weight division, with 13 altogether. When asked by Michael Bisping in his UFC Fight Night 199 Octagon interview, how he felt about achieving the record, Lewis replied "I’m feeling good, and I’m also happy that I’m the first fighter, clean fighter, to be number one in knockouts".[75]
Lewis faced Tai Tuivasa on February 12, 2022, at UFC 271 in Houston, Texas.[76] Lewis lost the fight via knockout in the second round.[77]
Lewis faced Sergei Pavlovich on July 30, 2022, at UFC 277.[78] He lost the fight via TKO, just 55 seconds into the first round, however there was controversy as the stoppage by referee Dan Miragliotta was considered premature by fighters and fans alike.[79][80][81][82] Lewis received the Crypto.com "Fan Bonus of the Night" award paid in bitcoin of US$10,000 for third place.[83]
Lewis was next expected to face Serghei Spivac at UFC Fight Night 215 on November 19, 2022.[84] However, Lewis was forced to pull out of the event due to non-COVID, non-weight cutting illness and the bout was canceled.[85] The pair was rescheduled for UFC Fight Night 218 on February 4, 2023.[86] Lewis lost the fight via an arm-triangle choke in round one, and he did not land a single strike during the fight.[87][88]
Lewis faced Marcos Rogério de Lima on July 29, 2023, at UFC 291.[89] He won the fight via technical knockout after a flying knee 33 seconds into round one, thus extending his UFC record of most knockouts to fourteen.[90] The win also earned Lewis the Performance of the Night bonus award.[91]
Lewis faced Rodrigo Nascimento on May 11, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 56.[94] After landing a knockdown, he won the fight via technical knockout from ground punches in the third round.[95]
Lewis was originally scheduled to face Alexander Romanov on November 2, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 246.[96] However, opponents were changed for unknown reasons and Lewis was going to face Jhonata Diniz instead.[97] After the weigh-ins, Lewis was forced to withdraw from the fight due to non-weight cut related medical issues causing the bout between Lewis and Diniz to be scrapped.[98]
Fighting style
Lewis has been characterized as a 'classic heavyweight' owing to his knockout power and physique. Former welterweight title contender and analyst Dan Hardy described him as a "wrecking ball", adding "Every time we've spoken about Derrick Lewis before, regardless of whether he's fighting Daniel Cormier, or whether he's fighting Volkov, or whether he's fighting Ciryl Gane, the same thing is always present. If he lands that right hand, it's game over."[99]
Lewis greatly prefers stand-up fighting, which he refers to as "swangin' and banging",[100] and has been noted by fans and commentators for his surprising ability to seemingly shrug off the grappling/wrestling offense of his opponents while in the bottom position, and simply 'stand up'.[101] However, analysts have noted that when facing fighters with a background in folkstyle wrestling, such as Daniel Cormier, Lewis finds it more difficult to escape the bottom position. Nonetheless, Lewis appeared to simply 'stand up' when threatened with a crucifix position by Roy Nelson, a fighter with a jiu-jitsu pedigree.[102][103]
Personal life
Lewis married his long-time girlfriend in Honolulu, Hawaii, on June 17, 2017. They have two sons and one daughter.[6]
During the flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Lewis pulled an estimated 100 people from the flood waters in Houston, Texas, via his lifted truck.[104]
On May 18, 2021, Lewis was returning to his car after a workout when he discovered a man allegedly trying to open the door of his vehicle. Lewis reportedly struck the alleged thief and pinned him to the ground until the police arrived.[105]
